The Lonely Doctor
by Silvermoon42
Summary: Immortal beings are doomed to wander the universe without anything constant in their lives. The best they can do is find temporary friends and enjoy the time they have.


**I've been watching some of the recap shows of Doctor Who, and I felt bad for the Doctor since he's never had any companion stick around for long (after all, he's lived a LONG time, and humans only live about 70 years, give or take). That's got to get depressing, watching everyone you care about die.**

 **So, I decided to give him a longer lasting person. This can work with any Doctor of your choosing, and its not really in any of the cannon, just...floating around out there.**

 **My OC is a human-not-really-human-like thing (she is immortal but not invincible, but she lives on Earth and acts sort of like a human, so why not?).**

 **I don't own anything of this franchise.**

 **It's a one-shot. There are no spoilers for any of the show in here, so don't worry about anything like that. I'm sure that all the Doctors have felt something like this at some point or another, so this what I think it'd be like. Anyway...**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

In the grand scheme of things, everyone has someone. Humans have their families, their friends; at least they know that their species exists, and there are billions walking around on a world. Animals have mates, plants have other plants; everything has something.

Everything except him.

The Doctor sat on a park bench in Central Park, New York, Earth, watching people go by, with their husbands, wives, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers...etc. They walked dogs, rolled baby carriages, talked with each other, and he even saw one woman walking what looked like a pet bunny. Anyway...everyone had someone. Except for him.

Sure, he had companions that would travel around with him for a while, but they did have other lives, and always went back to those...or they didn't make it in their travels. He preferred not to think of those. But everyone left in some way. They settled down, got a job, started a family...and he was left to continue traveling, saving worlds, stopping evil plots, pretty much everyday life for him. But there was something missing - something that every sentient being wants - needs. Someone _there_ , someone that doesn't disappear after a few years. He was tired of outliving people, of watching them grow old and die, their _children_ grow old and die. He didn't have anyone like that, and he wanted it - needed it. After traveling for so long, meeting so many different people and cultures and planets...he felt his age. Not physically, but he _felt_ it, in a way no mortal could ever understand.

As he sat on the bench, the sun slid down in the sky, its rim touching the horizon and casting the city in a pale glow. Despite the ever-dimming natural light and the nip in the air, the city sounds never ceased. They were an ever-constant thing; one he was sure the citizens found comforting. To him, it just reminded him of his loneliness.

With a sigh, he got up, striding across the grass towards the blue Police box; the only constant in his world. As always, he ignored the 'Pull To Open' sign on the door, pushing it open with a creak, and went to the control panel. Without any real destination in mind, he started flipping switches and pulling levers, holding on when the Tardis shook alarmingly. As if it sensed his melancholy, it settled down fairly quickly, the normal grinding sound fading away, and he barely looked at the screen to find where he was. Earth. Still. But on the other side of the continent.

When he exited, he wondered suddenly if the Tardis liked when he left. He was opening the door the way it was meant to be opened.

Looking around, he saw that he was on a flat, dusty ground that dropped off many feet away. He could see a canyon shaped like a horseshoe, and walked towards the observational platform. The sun was low in the sky but there were still some hours until it set.

On the platform - which went right up to the edge of the drop-off - was a man and a woman clearly together, and a woman leaning next to the informational sign, on her toes to look directly down. He went up to the railing a couple feet away from her and looked down into the canyon to see a wide, dark blue river on the bottom. The banks of the river held some shrubs, but it was mostly rocky.

"If you come at the right time of day, it's really pretty," the woman leaning on the railing said softly, her voice holding a slight accent that he recognized as Greek. She had tanned skin and black hair pulled back into a ponytail, held with a red hair ribbon. She wore blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and black boots. When she glanced over at him, he saw that she had deep brown eyes that looked like they held much wisdom beyond her twenty-some age.

"Have you been here before?" he asked, more to be polite than anything else. She nodded, returning her thoughtful gaze to the river down below.

"They do a floating tour on sections of the river. I've gone on it a couple times. Lighting makes a big difference."

"Does it?" he said, looking out over the canyon. "This is my first time here."

She hummed an acknowledgement of his words, then glanced behind her. "You didn't come in a car or motorcycle...the Police box is yours?"

He nodded, wondering slightly at the fact that she didn't appear too puzzled or upset by this fact. She simply hummed again and turned back to the river. The Doctor glanced back at the parking lot, and saw only one small gray car, presumably the couples', by the fact that they were currently driving away in it. There were no other vehicles that he could see. "How did you get here?"

She blinked slowly, and answered without taking her eyes off the river below. "I have my ways. Just like you have your way. Mine's not quite...normal."

The Doctor wanted to question her further (he was very curious about this woman), but decided that questioning her would be rude, so he stayed silent. After a moment, he read the signs; they mentioned how the canyon was made, when, why, all the normal stuff informational signs say. Once done, he went back over to the railing. She was looking at the river almost pensively.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, unable to curtail all of his curiosity. After all, a _few_ questions couldn't hurt.

She raised her eyes to the darkening sky in thought. "A few hours. It's not like I have anything to do." Her tone hid undercurrents of emotions he couldn't identify, except for loneliness.

"What's your name?"

"Claudia Prima," she said after a moment. "And yours?"

"I'm called the Doctor." If he expected her to answer with the age-old question, he was severely disappointed. She simply hummed again.

There was silence for sometime, during which the Doctor watched the sun slowly sink, the almost still water down below, and a bird wheeling over the canyon. He didn't really have anywhere to go or any obligations, so he stayed for the time being. But, when the sun went fully down and a sharp chill permeated the air, he decided to leave.

"Well, I'm heading out," he said, taking a step back and pausing awkwardly. "Do you...need a ride anywhere?" He was strangely fascinated by this woman. He knew there was much more to her than he could see, and she seemed to often be lost in her own thoughts.

"No, but thank you. I hope to see you around, Doctor." She straightened from the railing, and he saw that she was almost as tall as he was. She looked him directly in the eye, and he saw that same pensive and lonely look. He recognized that look. He hated it.

"Maybe we will," he said, though he sincerely doubted that. The chances were just...no. He would _not_ calculate the figures. He would _not_ \- too late. Claudia nodded once and turned back to gaze at the river. He disappeared in his Tardis; the grinding sound signaling his exit. Back on the railing, Claudia straightened with a sigh. She would remember that sound, and remember that man.

* * *

During five weeks after the encounter with Claudia, the Doctor went to an alien planet and settled a fight; briefly went back to get some fish and chips; another alien planet, on which he was, for some reason, nicknamed 'Bart'; hopped to several other planets running from a particularly persistent creature; and eventually came back to Earth to recharge. Again he went back to the U.S., and went out to get ice-cream when he saw an odd sight.

He had decided to land in a dirt parking lot near the western beach so that he could watch the ocean, and knew that the parking here was _horrendous_. Unless you were willing to pay _a lot_ for a paid-parking spot, you had to go several streets away, or get a spot in the neighborhood, if you got lucky. Spots always got claimed within a minute, and so you often had to circle and wait for someone to leave. You were lucky to get a place near the steps down, and if you did, you immediately claimed it. At least, that was what normally happened.

Today, there was what looked like _the best_ free spot you could get - it was near to the stairs, you were just beside a driveway so no one blocked you in, and most of all, it was _free._ And yet, no one was taking it. In fact, they seemed to be actively avoiding it. Cars would turn the corner, upon seeing the empty spot they would slow and some would even start to angle their cars in, just before turning and continuing on. It was weird, and it interested him.

With an ice-cream cone in one hand, he circled the spot, and found that the closer he got, the more he _felt_ that he should leave, that he shouldn't bother with this. This only interested him more, and he reached out with his free hand, and almost immediately felt smooth metal, even though he still couldn't see anything. He was now fascinated, and started investigating it more when a voice made him pull back almost guiltily.

"If you drip ice-cream on it, it'll ruin the disguise. Image how that would look; a puddle of milted ice-cream floating on midair." The voice, with a slight accent, sounded amused, yet held a clear message: _You had better move away_ now.

The Doctor turned and stared. It was the girl from the canyon - the one with the young appearance but old eyes. She was now wearing a loose sun-shirt, what looked like basketball shorts, and sandals. Almost classic beach-wear. "C-Claudia," he said, trying to remember her last name but failing.

"Claudia Prima," she said with a small smile. She didn't look like she was mocking him - no, she looked like she'd expected him to forget her name. That realization made him incredibly sad for some reason. "It is good to meet you again, Doctor."

"And you." He really didn't have any other words. He honestly hadn't thought they'd meet again; the chances were - no, don't think about them. No, no, no, no...too late. "W-what are you doing here?"

She raised an elegant eyebrow, and glanced behind her at the glimmering expanse of the ocean. "Why am I at the beach?" She paused, looking like she was deciding how much to say. Then she grinned. "I'm here to test out my new sensory-distortion device, and see if I can create a mass panic by causing someone to think a shark brushed by them."

He stared at her a moment, blinking. The grin widened.

"I'm here to swim," she amended.

"Right..."

"So, the distractors don't work on you. You obviously aren't human; so what are you?"

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Distractors? How did she...?

"By my telepathic powers, I can tell that you're confused," she hummed, then pointed. "I can also tell that your ice-cream is melting."

"Shoot!" The Doctor quickly licked up all the melting liquid, and was displeased to find that it had gotten on his hand and made it sticky. Looking up, he saw that Claudia was watching him with an expression of amusement and underlying sadness. It seemed that was always present. That was a shame. "Thanks," he said, looking ruefully down at the pile on top of the cone.

"No problem." She hummed and watched him carefully until he realized that she was waiting for something. She had that look of someone who was expecting something, but the problem was that he had no idea what. Did she want some ice-cream...probably not, but in any case, she wasn't getting any. "So what are you?" she asked finally, seeing him shift uncomfortably.

Oh, her earlier question! The Doctor shook his head, surprised at how slow he was today. It was the heat; yes, the heat was frying his brain. That was his excuse, and he'd stick with it. "I'm a Time Lord," he answered, figuring that if he wanted any answers as to what she was, he'd have to give up some information of his own.

"Time Lord," she repeated, sounding lost.

"Yes, we're - I'm a being from another planet. I travel in the Police box you saw the last time we met." She hummed and raised an eyebrow, no doubt at his amendment. "What are _you_?"

"I'm a Pragid," she hummed. "I was born in Ancient Greece."

"Ancient Greece?" the Doctor frowned. "As in..."

"Yep. The Greeks before the Romans. Let me tell you - those guys were interesting."

"But, then you're..."

She shrugged. "I've stopped counting how old I am. It doesn't really matter, after all."

"Are you immortal?"

"Immortal but not invincible," she sighed, and the sad look was more prevalent. After a moment of staring at the ground, she looked up. "So, how old are you?"

"I'm - in my early thousand."

"You're immortal?"

"Yes - well, sort of."

"Sort of?"

He then explained to her the process of regeneration, and she was silent through the explanation, then told him how her car was not invisible, there were strong distractors in it that made people _perceive_ it as invisible. Then the Doctor led her to the Tardis, finishing up the ice-cream on the way. He opened it and went inside, and after a moment, she came in. She froze on the threshold and stared around the room, then stepped forward and let the door swing closed behind her.

He was expecting her to say something along the lines of 'It's bigger on the inside!' or even the less commonly used 'It's smaller on the outside!' but all she said was: "The sign on the door said 'Pull To Open'. You pushed."

He stared at her. And blinked. And stared. And blinked some more.

She returned his gaze, then a grin crept onto her face. "By the way...it's bigger on the inside."

The Doctor had the sudden thought that he wasn't going to be so lonely anymore. By her smile, and the way he could barely see her sadness anymore, he knew she was thinking along the same lines.

* * *

 **So, that's it! How did you like it? I hope it was enjoyable.**

 **I wrote this because I felt so bad for the Doctor; in that immortal beings have got to be so alone and almost afraid to get to know mortal people. I mean, even as you're talking with them, some part of your mind has got to be going...'If we become close, I'll watch this person live and die, and I won't. I'll just get hurt.' That's depressing.**

 **Anyway, I hope I didn't depress anyone, and:**

 **Happy reading!**


End file.
